NEWTOWN -- A town police officer diagnosed as incapable of working will not lose his job, but will remain on long-term disability.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe has rescinded an earlier letter to the Police Commission seeking termination of Officer Thomas Bean, 38, who was diagnosed as 100 percent disabled because of the post-traumatic stress disorder he suffers from his response to the Sandy Hook School shootings last year, where 20 first-graders and six educators were gunned down.

Without comment, the commission accepted the letter Tuesday, and agreed the matter was not longer on its agenda.

Asked after the brief meeting about the rationale behind his decision, Kehoe said, "No comment.''

Kehoe notified Bean in June after he was made aware of his 100 percent disability that the officer had three options: resign, accept a reduced retirement package, or face termination. If Bean were fired, he would lose all benefits.

Two months later, Kehoe recommended to the commission that Bean be fired. Bean cried foul, and union leaders backed him. His case gained national attention, including an online petition signed by some 6,300 people.

In a previous interview, Bean said he did not wish to leave his position, but he could no longer pick up a gun, and so could not do the job.

At the time, he said he would hold the town to the contract it made with him and his fellow officers.

"I have nothing but love for the police department and the town," Bean said in the interview, "but we made a promise to protect and serve and uphold the law. We did our part, but they're not keeping their promise, which is very disappointing."

Union officials have said Bean is not the only officer who might need to use such disability insurance, and continued payments would require taxpayers to foot the bill if the town's insurance policy does not provide adequate coverage.

Since the shootings, 15 Newtown officers have missed time from work because of what they witnessed that day.

Union President Scott Ruszczyk, who did not attend Tuesday's commission meeting, said this was the desired outcome.

"I never thought it was a good idea to terminate him,'' Ruszczyk said. "So I'm glad (Kehoe) backed off that position.''

However, Bean's disability compensation remains unresolved.

Ruszczyk said he expects the union will file a grievance against the town if it maintains its intention to only pay Bean's long-term disability for up to two years. He said the union's current three-year contract, which expires in July, stipulates that a disabled officer must be paid half of his or her compensation until retirement eligibility at 25 years. Bean, a married father of two children, earns about $70,000 annually, and is not eligible for retirement for 13 more years.

"The language is very clear,'' Ruszczyk said Tuesday night.

First Selectman Pat Llodra said the town's long-term disability policy has been in effect for about 10 years, and is limited to a two-year period. As the town's municipal leader, she is bound to follow the town's policies and the contract guidelines, and the town cannot make exceptions on an individual basis, she said.

Though it is Kehoe and the commission's responsibility to handle employee matters, Llodra said it is her hope that this matter can be resolved "in a way that we all come to the same kind of understanding.''